Hassey to manage Zephyrs in 2012

Ron Hassey has been named the 13th manager in New Orleans Zephyrs history, as the Miami Marlins announced their minor league coaching assignments for the 2012 season. Returning to the Zephyrs' coaching staff are pitching coach Charlie Corbell and hitting coach Damon Minor, while athletic trainer Dustin Luepker will join the Zephyrs from Class AA Jacksonville.

Hassey, 58, returned from a three-year hiatus from coaching to manage at Class A Jupiter each of the last two seasons, following a two-year stint as the bench coach for the Seattle Mariners under manager Mike Hargrove in 2005 and 2006. He previously served in the Marlins system in 2004 as manager of Class AA Carolina.

Hassey spent 14 seasons in the Majors as a catcher for the Cleveland Indians, Chicago Cubs, New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics and Montreal Expos, hitting .266 in 1,192 games. He is the only catcher in Major League history to catch two perfect games, working with Cleveland's Len Barker in 1981, and Montreal's Dennis Martinez in 1991. A member of three consecutive American League pennant winners with Oakland from 1988-90, Hassey earned a World Championship ring with the A's in 1989. Following his retirement, he spent time as a Major League coach with the Colorado Rockies and St. Louis Cardinals, and then worked in a variety of roles in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization for seven seasons.

Corbell, 51, returns to New Orleans for a second consecutive season, after guiding the Zephyrs' pitching staff to a franchise-record 13 shutouts in 2011. Corbell is entering his 11th year as a minor league pitching coach, and his sixth year in the Florida Marlins organization, after two-year stints with Jamestown (2007-08) and Greensboro (2009-10). Originally selected by the San Francisco Giants in the 21st round in 1983, Corbell went 54-42 with a 3.67 ERA in 141 career minor league appearances (133 starts) in the Giants and Oakland Athletics systems.

Minor, 37, also returns to New Orleans after making his professional coaching debut in 2011, when he helped the Zephyrs to a .273 team batting average, the club's best mark since 2005. Minor played in 136 games over parts of four seasons with the San Francisco Giants, and established career highs in 2002 by playing in 83 games and hitting 10 home runs, helping the Giants to the National League pennant. Following his retirement in 2006, Minor returned to his alma mater at the University of Oklahoma as a hitting instructor, and operated the Minor-Foral Baseball Academy, of which he is co-owner.

Luepker is entering his fourth season in the Marlins organization, after spending each of the last three years at Jacksonville. Prior to joining the Marlins, Luepker worked three seasons in the San Francisco Giants system at Class A Augusta and Class AA Connecticut, and previously was the athletic trainer for the Gary Railcats in the independent Northern League.

The Zephyrs begin the 2012 campaign, their 20th season in New Orleans, against the Nashville Sounds on April 5. Ticket packages are available now at the Zephyr Field box office, or by calling (504) 734-5155.